In Transit ‘Illusionary’ EP Review
As a fan of UK rock from the last few decades, specifically The Cure, I was immediately intrigued when Florida band, In Transit, commented that they pull inspiration from them. With a combination of so many niches like Midwestern Emo and late 90’s emo while embracing the renewed movement of genre mixing by bringing in new wave synths into their music, this band definitely has something for everyone.
When I started listening to their latest EP, ‘Illusionary,’ I was immediately drawn in by their use of a ‘V for Vendetta’ in their intro “Transmission / Gambit.” What a way to start this EP. Continuing in this EP I can’t say I was disappointed in their sophomore project.
Throughout the entire EP you’ll get vocal from three of the five members: Ben Baker and Adam Byers on guitar and vocals, Matt Roback on bass and vocals, Keith Krusch on synth, keys, and samples, and Alex Frazzoni on drums. Collectively delivering a united front of that delivers an engaging but familiar sound that I can see many enjoying as what my friend calls ‘garage music’ which he puts on while working on his car or like myself where I’ll definitely enjoy this on my upcoming long drive.
Adding a faster paced song, “Poison Pills” helps speed up the EP while adding a chant that I hear too many of my peers echoing, this is a great song that helps the EP ramp up energy and get you more invested. And with continued use of samples throughout their songs, their work isn’t just about music, but also about a message being conveyed. With “Apertures” starting out with “Unfortunately, some members of the media…. Use their platforms to push their own personal bias…” using several voices overlapped to further the ‘V for Vendetta’ esque tone. The song continues with a light 90’s grunge vibe that I enjoy far too much for it being 30 years ago.
“Lost in the Lights” and “Electric Sheep” both sound so different, but are great in their own rights. With “Lost in the Lights” being a bit slower, and really embracing 90’s influences. And “Electric Sheep” using a good mix of samples of a speech talking about ‘hacking’ humans and the eraser of free will, this furthers the theme of “Transmission / Gambit” and with has you looped in to hear the full story of the song.
“Nest Dolls” closes out the EP as the longest song at 5:37 and starts out strong with heavy drums and synthetic sounds easing you into vocals. Continuing their use of samples to convey a political message, the band speaks about “The Blackest Rock” all while staying true to their sound and maintaining a solid grunge vibe. Closing out the song with the sounds of hitting on prison bars and the line of “the systems infected,” it’s hard to ignore what this song is about and the message they’ve conveyed in the EP.
Overall, this EP gives you a small taste of everything while being a unique and unified sound. While you get several different genres blended together, it all is undoubtedly unique to In Transit. With the messages conveyed throughout the entire EP in such a cohesive way, they might have become one of my more favorite 90’s grunge resurgence bands. I’ve seen a lot of bands attempt this, but it sounds far too disconnected. In Transit has managed to balance to make a solid collection of entirely different songs with one collective message and was able to add in political messages to them- an impressive feat. While they don’t have a vast library of songs just yet, I’m looking forward to the day they do. In Transit is absolutely a band I’ll be recommending to those looking for a familiar vibe but needing something new to add to their rotation.
